1. Why all of us need comfort?

TODAY, all of us need comfort. E fit be say problem, bad things wey we no expect, or suffer wey we de face don too much for us. Some of us de struggle with pain of old age, sickness, or death of people wey we love. Some of us dey for place wey them de treat us bad. Fight-fight full everywhere, and na so e de add everyday. True-true, as “things really hard to handle” e show say we de live “for last days.” And as each day de pass, e show say we de near the new world more-more. (2 Tim. 3:1) And e fit be say we don de wait for long time to see all the things wey Jehovah promise to happen, and our problem fit de add more-more. So where we fit get comfort?

2, 3. (a) Wetin we know about Habakkuk? (b) Why we go talk about the book of Habakkuk?

² To get the answer, make we talk about the book of Habakkuk. Bible no talk everything about the life of Habakkuk, and the things wey e do. But the book of Habakkuk fit encourage us well-well. This name fit mean “Embrace or Hug.” Maybe e de talk about the way Jehovah de comfort us with warm hug or the way we de hold Jehovah tight. Habakkuk ask  Jehovah some important questions. This questions still concern us today, because na e make Jehovah direct Habakkuk to write-am down.​—Hab. 2:2.

³ Prophet Habakkuk really de feel bad, na only the things wey e talk with Jehovah Bible tell us. The Bible book of Habakkuk na part of “all the things wey they write before our time,” and they keep this things well for God’s Word wey be Bible, ‘so that as we de endure and de get comfort from Bible, we fit get hope.’ (Rom. 15:4) How each of us fit benefit from the book of Habakkuk? E fit help us see wetin e mean to trust Jehovah. The thing wey Habakkuk write make us dey sure say, e dey possible make we get peace of mind no matter our problems and suffer. As we don know this one now, make we talk more about the book of Habakkuk.

4. Why Habakkuk no dey happy?

⁴ Read Habakkuk 1:2, 3. The time wey Habakkuk live hard well-well, na so-so trouble full everywhere. E no dey happy at all because people for e time dey wicked and they like fight. So, Habakkuk ask say: Which time their wickedness go end? Why Jehovah delay well-well before e end the wickedness? Everything wey Habakkuk de see na how people for e place de suffer other people and how partial full everywhere. E feel like say e own don finish. But for this e hard condition, e pray to Jehovah for help. May be Habakkuk start to think say Jehovah no care, because e feel say Jehovah no end the wickedness quick-quick. You don ever feel the way this servant of God feel before?

5. Which important lesson we fit learn from the book of Habakkuk? (Check the first picture.)

⁵ Habakkuk no trust Jehovah again? E stop to get faith for the things wey God promise? No! E no tell person e problem, na only Jehovah e tell e problem and how e de feel. This one really show say e still get hope. But e really de worry because e no understand God’s time or the reason why God allow make e dey that hard condition. Jehovah use e spirit direct Habakkuk to write the problems wey e face, so that we go learn this important lesson: Make we no fear to tell Jehovah how we de feel and the things wey de worry us. True-true, Jehovah really want make we pour our heart and talk everything wey de worry us for prayer. (Ps. 50:15; 62:8) Proverbs 3:5 still encourage us say make we “trust Jehovah with all [our] heart” and make we “no trust the things wey [we] know.” E fit be say Habakkuk know this one, and e do wetin this place talk.

6. Why prayer dey important?

⁶ Habakkuk trust Jehovah as e Friend and Papa. Even when e dey hard condition, e remember to near Jehovah. Habakkuk no just de worry about e condition, and trust wetin e know. Instead, e pray and tell Jehovah all e worry and how e de feel. This one na good example for us. Jehovah na God wey e de hear prayer. When we de pray, make we show our trust for Jehovah and talk everything wey de worry us for prayer. Na wetin Jehovah want be that. (Ps. 65:2) If we do like that, we go see how Jehovah go answer our prayer. We go feel e warm hug as e de help us. (Ps. 73:23, 24) E go help us understand wetin e think about us no matter our problem. The best way to show say we trust Jehovah na to pray from our heart.

7. Wetin Jehovah do after Habakkuk complain about e condition finish?

⁷ Read Habakkuk 1:5-7. After Habakkuk don tell Jehovah all e problem finish,  e fit de wonder wetin Jehovah go do? Jehovah no vex for Habakkuk for the way e complain about e condition, because e be Papa wey get love and e de understand. Jehovah know say Habakkuk complain like that because of the kind suffer and pain wey e de feel. Jehovah tell Habakkuk wetin e go soon do to those Jews wey they no dey faithful. E fit be say na Habakkuk Jehovah first tell say e go soon destroy all the people wey them de do bad things that time.

8. Why Habakkuk surprise as Jehovah talk wetin e go do?

⁸ Jehovah show Habakkuk say e don dey ready to handle the matter. That time, the punishment wey Jehovah go give that wicked generation don near. As Jehovah talk say “e go happen for [your] days,” this one show say the judgment go happen for Habakkuk time or for e generation. The thing wey Jehovah tell Habakkuk no be wetin e expect at all. Na the solution to e problem be that? Wetin Jehovah tell Habakkuk mean say suffer go increase for the whole land of Judah. * People for the place wey Habakkuk de stay wicked, but they still know God’s law. Chaldeans (people for Babylon) wicked pass them because they no get pity, they dey tough and like fight well-well. Na this people Jehovah want use destroy e own people. Why Jehovah go use this kind nation wey de worship idol destroy e own people? If na you be Habakkuk, how you go feel when you hear wetin Jehovah say e go do?

9. Which other questions Habakkuk ask?

⁹ Read Habakkuk 1:12-14, 17. Habakkuk understand say Jehovah go use Babylon people judge and punish all the bad people for e time. But the matter still de surprise Habakkuk sotey e confuse. But even with that one, Habakkuk still dey humble and e continue to trust Jehovah as e “Rock.” (Deut. 32:4; Isa. 26:4) Habakkuk dey patient and e continue to trust Jehovah for e love and care. Na this one give Habakkuk strong mind to ask Jehovah more questions. E say: Why Jehovah go allow the condition for Judah to worse? Why e no go do something quick-quick? Why Almighty go allow more suffer? Why e go “keep quiet” make wickedness full everywhere? Na “Holy One” e be, e “eyes too pure to look wetin dey bad.”

10. Sometimes, how we fit feel like Habakkuk?

¹⁰ Sometimes, we fit de feel like Habakkuk. We listen to Jehovah. We read and study e Word with trust, and e give us hope. We hear about all the things wey e don promise us from the direction wey e organization de give us. But even with all this one, we fit still de wonder say, ‘Which time all our suffer go end?’ Wetin we fit learn from the thing wey Habakkuk do next?

11. Wetin Habakkuk decide to do after e listen to Jehovah?

¹¹ Read Habakkuk 2:1. Habakkuk mind come down as e talk with Jehovah. So e make up e mind and decide say e go continue to trust Jehovah and wait for when e go do something. Habakkuk really mean wetin e talk because e talk-am again say e go “dey quiet and wait for the days of suffer.” (Hab. 3:16) Other faithful servant of God get this kind trust and them dey patient. This one encourage us say make we no tire to wait for Jehovah to do something.​—Mic. 7:7; Jas. 5:7, 8. 

12. Wetin we learn from Habakkuk?

 ¹² Wetin we learn from the thing wey Habakkuk decide? One, make we no ever stop to pray to Jehovah no matter the problem wey we de face. Two, we need to listen to everything wey Jehovah de use e Word and e organization tell us. Three, make we dey patient and wait for Jehovah, make we trust say e go remove our pain for e own time. If we continue to pray from our heart, continue to listen to Jehovah, and get better mind as we de wait, we go get peace of mind and this one go help us to endure, just like Habakkuk. Our hope go help us to dey patient and we go dey happy no matter the problem wey we de face. Na this hope de make us dey sure say Jehovah go do something.—Rom. 12:12.

13. How wetin dey Habakkuk 2:3 fit give us hope?

¹³ Read Habakkuk 2:3. True-true Jehovah dey happy as Habakkuk decide to wait. The Almighty really know wetin Habakkuk de suffer. So, E comfort the prophet as E sofri tell the prophet with love say e go soon get answer to all the questions wey e ask. Jehovah tell Habakkuk say all e worry go soon end. E just be like say God de tell Habakkuk say: “Dey patient, and trust me. I go answer you even if you think say I de delay!” Jehovah remind Habakkuk say e don already decide the time when e go do everything wey e promise. E encourage Habakkuk to wait for the time wey everything wey e talk go happen. For the end the prophet know say wetin God talk go happen.

14. Wetin we go decide to do when we de face problem?

¹⁴ E good to get better mind as we de wait for Jehovah, and put mind for wetin e de tell us. This one go help us trust Jehovah, and e go help us get peace of mind no matter the suffer or problem wey we de face. Jesus encourage us to trust Jehovah as the number one Person wey de keep time. E say make we no put mind for “times or seasons” wey God never tell us about. (Acts 1:7) So, make we no ever tire, but make we dey humble as we de wait. Make we get faith, and dey patient. Make we de use our time well as we de try our best to serve Jehovah.​—Mark 13:35-37; Gal. 6:9.

15, 16. (a) Which better promise them, dey for the book of Habakkuk? (b) Wetin this promise them de teach us?

¹⁵ Jehovah promise say: “The person wey dey righteous go live because e get faith,” and “knowledge about the glory of Jehovah go full the earth.” (Hab. 2:4, 14) This promise na for righteous people wey they trust Jehovah. True-true, all the people wey dey patient and trust Jehovah go get life.

¹⁶ If you first look this promise wey dey Habakkuk 2:4, you go think say na ordinary talk. But, apostle Paul quote this verse three times to show how important that promise dey, and to show say e go really happen! (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38) No matter the suffer wey righteous person de suffer, because of e faith and trust e go live to see how all the things wey God don promise go happen. Jehovah de encourage us say make we no put mind for the things wey we de suffer now, but make we put mind for the hope wey we get for future.

17. Which sure hope Jehovah use the book of Habakkuk give us?

¹⁷ The book of Habakkuk get better lesson for all of us, as we de live for this last days. Jehovah promise to give life to any  righteous person wey show say e get faith and trust. Make we continue to make our faith strong and trust God more-more, no matter the suffer and problem wey we de face. Jehovah use Habakkuk encourage us and give us sure hope say e go support and help us. E say make we get trust and dey patient as we de wait for the time wey e don keep. For God’s Kingdom, the whole earth go full with humble and happy people wey de serve Jehovah.​—Matt. 5:5; Heb. 10:36-39.

18. How the thing wey Jehovah talk affect Habakkuk?

¹⁸ Read Habakkuk 3:16-19. The things wey Jehovah talk really encourage Habakkuk. E think deep about the better-better things wey Jehovah don do for e people before. This one really make Habakkuk get more trust. Habakkuk know say small time, Jehovah go do something. That one really make Habakkuk mind come down, even as e know say e go still suffer for some time. Habakkuk no doubt again, instead e come get joy and trust say na only Jehovah get power to save. Wetin Habakkuk talk really get power well-well. From all the things wey person don ever talk, the thing wey Habakkuk talk fit be one of the best talk to show faith and trust for Jehovah. Na e make some scholars believe say this thing wey Habakkuk talk for verse  18 mean “I go jump de happy for the Lord; I go dance for joy because of God.” This one na big lesson for all of us! Jehovah no just give us all this better promise, e still give us sure hope say e de work quick-quick to make them happen.

19. How we fit get comfort like Habakkuk?

¹⁹ The important lesson wey we learn from the book of Habakkuk na to trust Jehovah. (Hab. 2:4) We fit get that kind trust wey Habakkuk get if we make our friendship with Jehovah strong more-more. Wetin go fit help us? (1) We no go tire to pray, we go tell Jehovah everything wey e de worry us and how we de feel. (2) We go really put mind and listen to Jehovah’s Word and follow any direction wey e de use e organization give us. And (3) we go get faith and dey patient as we de wait for Jehovah. Na wetin Habakkuk do be that. Even though say Habakkuk start the beginning of e book with pain and complain, for the end e get faith and trust for Jehovah, and e glad well-well. Make we follow this fine example so that we too go feel the warm hug from our Papa Jehovah! For this wicked world, e get any other comfort wey we fit get wey go better pass this one?